>>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by Wrangletown. Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free. The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my cider review cue. I love free stuff, especially cider! Want your cider or cider-related product reviewed here? Contact me.<<

Availability: Only in Northern California. They self distribute, and have a tasting room in Arcata (open Friday thru Sunday and by appointment) in Humboldt county. The owner also said she may also be able to ship through a third party to some states if there was interest.

Cider Description:Wrangletown’s Monument Apples Orchard is dry cider produced from a special orchard in Rio Dell, California. The apples in this orchard are Heirloom and Cider varieties. Varieties from this orchard include Cox’s Orange Pippin, Roxbury Russet, Wickson, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Smith Cider and Golden Russet. The juice was fermented and aged in Stainless Steel. This dry cider shows stone fruit, fruit blossom and beeswax aromas . It has wonderfully bright acidity and is proof that true cider and heirloom apples produce the best ciders.

The cidery is owned and operated by Pat Knittel, since 2015 (a one-woman show). The cidery is named after the “wrangle” town the cidermaker grew up in, which was infamous for two women brawling in the streets. The cidery had a Kickstarter campaign, successfully raising funds for equipment. Ciderpress wrote an article after touring the cidery. Here is another article on the cidery.

My Opinion: This isn’t my favorite style of cider; I usually go for a more intensely flavored cider, and I found this a bit nuanced. However, I certainly couldn’t find any faults, and didn’t dislike it. This is a more introductory farmhouse-style cider, with only hints of sourness & funk. This will likely appeal to folks who enjoy wine and milder food-friendly ciders. I always think of my personal opinion as more of an afterthought to my reviews (which is why I don’t rate ciders here). Everyone has a different taste in ciders, and every cider won’t appeal to every person.